SoVote

Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

May/9/24 2:34:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if my hon. colleague is concerned about tax increases, I suggest he talk to the leader of his own party, who is proposing to increase taxes on new apartment construction by putting the GST back on apartment rentals in this country. The Conservatives' plan is to raise taxes on home construction. Their plan is to cut funding for the communities that are going to build homes. Their leader has actively promised in the media that he views the role of government as being to not participate in housing. On our side of the House, we are going to make the investments necessary to solve the housing crisis. I hope the Conservatives will join us.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Hon. Sean Fraser (Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, Lib.)

May/9/24 6:26:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my hon. colleague led off by pointing out that the fall economic statement feels like a very long time ago, hence the need to move forward with time allocation to actually implement the measures included in the fall economic statement now that we are into the following spring. He mentioned the home ownership prices and the rental challenges a lot of families are having in his community. We know that these circumstances are very challenging in regions right across the entire country. The reality is that, when we look at the plan the Conservatives are putting forward, they do not have a single measure that is designed to help actually build more homes. They want to raise taxes when it comes to the GST on apartment construction. They have no measures in their housing plan that are designed to help more people get into homes. The member talks about homes for members of the Canadian Armed Forces, and I would actually point him to the recent plan put forward by the Minister of National Defence, who has included specific, short-term budgeting opportunities to build more homes for the men and women who wear the uniform. It is essential that we look at all the different opportunities to advance measures to build more homes. I am disappointed that the Conservative plan provides precisely zero.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Hon. Sean Fraser

May/9/24 6:34:49 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will acknowledge that I know where Revelstoke is located. I have been there a number of different times, and it is a beautiful part of the country. I would encourage anyone who has not had the privilege of visiting to take the opportunity and support the local tourism sector in Revelstoke. With respect to the housing accelerator fund, we move forward on agreements with the most ambitious communities. A number of communities have been doing good work, for a number of years, when it comes to housing. However, we made a policy decision at the outset of that fund not to reward communities for past behaviour; instead, we will incentivize new measures that would allow more homes to be built. This program was not designed to give money out without demanding actual action that will result in more homes being constructed. This is paying for performance. There is money being put on the table to incentivize changes that will increase housing output in communities. We have now seen 179 agreements that our partner communities are projecting will lead to 750,000 new building permits over the next decade. These are meaningful opportunities, but I would encourage the hon. member to have Revelstoke reach out. We do have a $400-million top-up to the housing accelerator fund, and I am pleased to see that he seemingly supports that program, unlike the leader of his party.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Mr. Darrell Samson

May/9/24 9:53:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for all the hard work she has done on the veterans affairs committee. I appreciate that we have been able to work together on a number of projects. I would like to remind my colleague that the big reason we have a housing crisis is because, when the former Conservative government was in power, it did not see any responsibility in contributing toward housing. Whereas, our government brought forward the first national housing strategy ever in the country, and we have put some major projects on the table. As well, we have just invested, in budget 2024, a continuation of rapid housing with the accelerator fund and the use of modular homes, which is a new innovative approach, and taking the tax off the construction of rentals. We are doing this right across the country, and we will focus on every part of the country. I am sure Nunavut will be at least part of that process.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Mr. John Brassard (Barrie—Innisfil, CPC)

May/9/24 11:19:19 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is an interesting conversation about modular homes. They are being built in a way right now that far exceeds any normal building standards. They are an option for the housing crisis in this country. The challenge with modular home builders right now is that, although they could scale up and actually build two or three times more than what they are building right now, they have a problem with cash flow. Oftentimes, they are required to pay out the development, which causes problems in terms of their ability to put these modular homes on developed spaces. I just visited a modular home builder and cash flow is critical, so finding some way of advancing or eliminating the cash flow crisis that exists can actually help build these homes and scale them up in a much greater capacity. However, this budget does not address that.

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Context: House Hansard - 312 - May/9/24

Mr. Peter Fragiskatos

May/9/24 11:20:22 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have enormous respect for my hon. colleague, because I know he cares about his community. We may have certain fundamental disagreements on matters of policy, but I know he cares about his community. I have heard how passionately over the years he has raised the issues facing his community. While modular homes are not the focus of the fall economic statement, they certainly have been given attention in the recent budget of 2024. If the member wants to see businesses, perhaps in his community, receive loan support, which is in budget 2024, among other supports, I would advise him to get behind budget 2024, read it and support it, along with the housing accelerator fund, which the Conservative Party has voted against. The member talked about lifting certain restrictions at local levels. I think it is fundamental that Conservatives get onside with a better way of doing things.

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